Senior doctors wanted to convey an optimistic message to the public: "We are used to dealing with hundreds of respirators, this is routine; we have experience that no country in the world has."

• Emergency room at Barzilai hospital in Ashkelon (Archive) //

Senior GPs released a surprising message to the public this morning: "We are not Italy or Spain, we are used to dealing with a lack of standards."

The doctors' comments come on the back of reports of critical respiratory deficiencies in Israel and the fear that the situation will deteriorate to the health chaos currently taking place in Italy and Spain, with hundreds of people dying of the Corona virus every day.

Editing and Animation: Gilad Distelman

Discourse over the collapse of intensive care units has angered internal physicians, who are actually treating Corona patients.

Prof. Avishai Ellis, chair of the Association of Internal Medicine, and Dr. Dror Dicker, incoming president of the European Federation of Internal Medicine and director of the Corona Complex at Sharon Medical Center, decided this morning, on behalf of all doctors and interns: "Israel is not like Italy, or Spain , Or any other country in the world. For years, we have been in the internal wards serving as the respiratory home respiratory system. We also have experience, even under constant pressure and overloads, that culminate in the winter, treating about 500 respiratory patients in the wards, alongside thousands of hospitalized patients with complex illnesses Others. "

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"In practice, every winter, the internal wards breathe more patients than the intensive care units!", The doctors added. "There is no other country in the world with an overcrowded health system. We are used to wards that have 38 beds, treating about 45 patients, in addition to five seriously ill patients, and even more. This is our routine. We have focused on the distribution of power and the effort to deal with numbers, Unparalleled in the world, long before the Corona epidemic. "

Doctors say: "At this time, our unique ability is a huge advantage. Comparisons and panic around the collapse of ICUs - are out of place. We want to give the public a hope. Trust in our experience. We are unique in the world and different from all other countries. Patients with complex and challenging morbidity. Collaborate and medical information and learn daily to cope better with patients in Corona. "

"In Israel, only 1,437 respirators are available"

According to data released this morning (Thursday) by the Knesset Corona Committee, MK Ofer Shalah, according to a new report by the Knesset Research and Information Center (MMM), prepared at his request, there are only 1,437 available respirators in Israel .

Photo: Knesset spokeswoman Adina Wallman

In addition, according to the Ministry of Health, as of January 2019 there were only 758 ICUs of various types in Israel. "394 General Intensive Care Beds, 64 Intermediate Intensive Care Beds, 215 Intensive Care Beds, 53 Intermediate Intensive Care Beds, and 32 Respiratory Intensive Care Beds," the report states.

"In answering the Knesset Research and Information Center's question of the number of respirators in Israel, the Ministry said that as of today, there are 2,173 respirators in Israel, of which about one-third (708) are used, another 28 are abnormal and 1,437 are available," the statement said.

During a committee meeting, MK Shalah asked Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Seaman to address the controversies that arose in his office regarding the crisis. "Is the rate of immigration due to the amount of tests or exponential growth, and how many Corona patients really are?" Asked MK Shalah. "When will you have the intelligence picture that will allow a more balanced game between the medical and economic sphere?"

A good sign replied that he estimated, "Within a week, we will have about 200 seriously ill patients. Our goal is to conquer the morbidity and reach a situation where we can take some risks after Passover." I think the number of difficult patients is on the rise. I estimate that within a week we will be dealing with about 200 severely ill patients and we are directing the preparation and strategy for the ability to treat the severely ill. "

Good sign Bar added: "We are probably doing more tests today than any other country, and we have a 'let's test as much as possible' approach. More important than some testing, it's who you test."

During the meeting, the Health Ministry director-general noted that the health system is preparing to respond to 5,000 breaths at a time. The progress of the move depends on the rate of arrival of the respirators. Meir Ben Shabat, the head of the NSC, said: "We have to say honestly that we should formulate The on-the-go management mechanism ”.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health announced this morning that the number of confirmed cases of Corona patients in Israel rose to 2,495. The condition of 41 of the patients is difficult. 68 of the patients are in moderate condition and 2,315 in mild condition. So far, five people have died in the country from Corona. Also, according to updated ministry data, 66 have recovered from Corona and 146,074 Israelis are currently in solitary confinement. 1,265 are in hospitalization and 327 patients are in recovery hotels.

Participating in the preparation: Gadi Golan, Adi Hasmonay and Yaron Doron